Bed sheets, pillow cases, duvet covers, shams are available in different forms made of different types of material. They are very functional providing a good night sleep but also compliment the decoration of the bed room through the design, color and construction.
The top portions of a bed sheet is usually folded and hemmed in a slightly decorative manner to give the design element to the bed sheet. This portion is also commonly referred to as the “Hem” of the sheet. Similarly, the pillow cases that go with these sheets also have a “hem portion” which is usually the same as the bed sheet or could be slightly different but to complement the bed sheet. The duvet covers and shams may have a slightly more elaborate design element as they are usually considered “Top of Bed” and many times used to decorate the bed. The attachment/design element is done over the product and is referred as “flange”.
There are various ways of achieving this design element. Normally design is added by “printing” a design with different colors on the fabric. On some bed sheets (mainly in high end luxurious products), the bed sheets are just plain (dyed in a single color).
A very simple hem can be obtained by folding the fabric back into itself (over about 4″) and then using a simple single needle stitch to keep it together. Such a Hem is called a “Single Needle Hem” as depicted in FIG. 1(a) and FIG. 2(a). A similar process using a double needle stitch is called “Double Needle Hem” as depicted in FIG. 1(b) and FIG. 2(b). These hems can be done either by folding the fabric inwards or outwards. If the face and the back of the fabric are visually different, this also adds a small design element to the sheet.
Apart from these simple hems, there are other very intricate and detailed hems—a common one is done by using a “Picotting machine”. This hem consists of tiny holes at the joining area and gives a very rich look to the fabric. This hem is commonly referred to as the “Hem Stitch”. Again this “Hem Stitch” can be done in one or more rows, thus deriving “Two-Row Hem Stitch”, “Three-Row Hem Stitch” etc.
Other forms of more intricate hems include a “Satin Stitch” also sometimes referred to as a “Baratto Stitch” or a “Merrow Stitch”. This is made usually on an embroidery machine or a special purpose machine by stitching zigzag threads very closely to give it that affect. This “Satin Stitch” can also be extended into two rows, three rows etc or varying widths to give different options.
Apart from this, embroidery of other forms is commonly used to add a design element to the hem of the sheet. Slightly more elaborate designs include attaching a different colour fabric as the hem portion to give a contrast effect as depicted in FIG. 1(c) and FIG. 1(d). All these different options give a design element to the bed sheet.
Similarly, the pillow cases that go with these sheets also have a “hem portion” which is usually the same as the bed sheet or could be slightly different but to complement the bed sheet as depicted in FIG. 2(a), FIG. 2(b), FIG. 2(c) and FIG. 2(d).
The duvet covers and shams may have a slightly more elaborate design element as they are usually considered “Top of Bed” and many times used to decorate the bed. They are usually attached over the product and are also referred as “flange” as shown in FIG. 3(a), FIG. 3(b) and FIG. 3(c).
Some attempts have been made in the past to deal with overcoming the stated limitations of the prior art such as those disclosed in the following:
U.S. Pat. No. 5,836,023 titled ‘Decorative trim strip for comforters, quilts, and the like’ discloses a bed clothing arrangement including a bed covering, a decorative trim strip made of flexible decorative material, and fastening means for removably fastening the decorative trim strip to the bed covering. U.S. Pat. No. 6,105,186 discloses a reversible multilayer decorative trim which is particularly suited for use with bedclothes or bed coverings such as comforters and quilts comprising a bed covering, a reversible decorative trim strip made of multiple layers of flexible decorative materials, and fastening means for removably fastening the decorative trim strip to the bed covering. U.S. Pat. No. 5,628,064 disclosed separable clothes including a base panel for covering a part of the body, and a plurality of auxiliary panels detachably fastening to one another or to the base panel by zippers, hook and loop materials, and snaps for covering the limbs or a part of the body. U.S. Pat. No. 2,139,980 disclosed a comforter with a detachable valance that makes it a bed spread. The valance can be decorative and is attached during the day time to make it look like a bed spread and during the night it is removed to be used as a comforter wherein the attachment is by means or a zipper or hook etc. U.S. Pat. No. 3,273,176 relates to a detachable flap for a blanket that can be disposable or washable for hygiene purposes. U.S. Pat. No. 4,890,347 describes an interchangeable detachable decorative applique which is a piece of art work made of fabric attached to top of comforter, bedspread or other bed covering. U.S. Pat. No. 5,118,553 relates to a bed covering that has connectable panels which are connected at overlapping borders by complementary fasteners.
Thus, in order to have a different look/appearance, the only possibility is to change the entire sheet or Top of Bed. Hence to change the look of the bed, the only option is to change the entire sheets even if it is still clean or entirely usable. It is desirable to be able to change the look of the bed frequently without having to change the entire bed linen.
There has thus been a need in the art to develop a simple, cost effective and less time consuming method that would be capable of providing different types of hems on the bed sheets or pillow cases or duvets or shams on the same bed sheet providing variety and options to suit the room. Various other features and method of the present disclosure will become obvious to those skilled in the art upon reading the disclosure set forth hereinafter.